Quidditch Genes
by Maraudercat
Summary: It's Lily Potter's first game of school Quidditch, and she is nervous as hell. Still, with the support of her brothers and cousins, it's looking to be a good match. One-shot.


**DISCLAIMER: All that you recognise belongs to JK Rowling.**

A/N This, like any other stories I write, is set in the same fic-verse as my other pieces. In other words, these are the same characters that appear in Conversations with a Hat.

* * *

Lily tugged nervously on the straps of her gloves, checking they were tight. Beside her, her cousin Hugo sat in silence, one hand absently tapping is broom handle. Today was the first Quidditch match for both of them and they were scared senseless. _Relax, _she told herself,_ it'll be just like a family game out the back of the Burrow._ And in truth it would be as, for the first time in anyone at the school's memory, the entire house team were related. Still, their family games had never had 500 spectators before. Another surge of panic was quelled by her brother James's emergence from the toilet, and his encouraging grin in her direction.

"Chin up, Little Lily, you'll be fine. Hell, fly half as good as you do at practice and you'll run rings around those Slytherin goons!"

An encouraging clap was added to Hugo's shoulder, before the Gryffindor captain signalled for the team to head out. Lily managed one last nervous smile at Hugo before she was grabbed by Roxy, and pulled into position. She glanced back to see him standing behind Fred, the pair making a final check of their bats. Lily grinned as she remembered the beater tryouts, and the exuberant look on her cousin's freckled face as he, a small, scrawny, tangle-haired third year won out over his older, stronger competition with his flawless accuracy and strategic placement. She swore she could still feel the lump on her temple.

The sudden sunlight blinded her for a second, before she dimly registered the sound of the crowd cheering, and Louis' best friend, Mickey Goldstein, a seventh-year Ravenclaw renowned for his rapid processes of thought and speech, announcing the teams. "And first out are the Slytherins, Dorny, Davis, Smith, Malfoy, Lopez, Hunter, aaaaaand Harper. That's Donnavan Harper, people, current record holder at Hogwarts for fastest capture of the snitch, standing at fifty-seven seconds. And he's still got another two years here to beat it!"

Even at fifty feet, Lily could see Harper's smirk. From the back of the line she heard a derisive snort, probably from Al.

"And now the Gryffindors, who some would call a biased team, unless they saw the tryouts. Believe me folks, they may be cousins, but they got their spots on talent not connections." Mickey paused, allowing the Slytherins time to boo, before continuing. "Here are Potter, Weasley, Potter, Weasley...oh this is just ridiculous! Right, take two. I give you James, Roxanne, Lily, Rose, Fred, Hugo aaaaaand Albus.

Lily's stomach back flipped as her name was called out. _Calm, Lily, relax. Be strong, you can do this!_ She grinned with the rest as her brother crushed Jenny Dorny's fingers, causing the Slytherin captain to wince, and then all of a sudden she was in the air, flicking past a green-robed blur, catching a speeding red one and heaving it towards the goals...

"And Lily Potter opens up the scoring, a clever curveball, right through Malfoy's fingers. Ten-nil Gryffindor!"

Lily was so shocked that she nearly fell off her broom. She hadn't even thought! It had all been instinct, just pure instinct, and he was talking like she'd done it on purpose! A sudden whooshing noise and she ducked just in time as a bludger sailed past.

"Wake up coz!" Hugo grinned as he sailed past, aiming carefully, and catching Jeb Smith's elbow right on the funny bone, causing him to drop the Quaffle which was swooped on by James, who passed without looking to Roxy, who dodged Davis, Hunter, then passed back to James who faked left, then...

"And Gryffindor score again! This time it's James Potter. The Gryffindor captain adds ten to the score. Twenty-nil!"

Snapping out of her stunned stupor, Lily rejoined the game with passionate fury.

"And here comes Davis of Slytherin with the Quaffle, dodges James Potter, a bludger and Fred Weasley, slips past Roxanne Weasley, he heads for the goals and WOW! What a tackle from Lily Potter! Punched the Quaffle right out of his hands and off she goes, passing to her brother, and back, and off to Roxanne who shoots and...Malfoy saves by the tip of his gloves. A bit of luck for Slytherin there."

Lily caught the briefest glimpse of green, before a speeding mass smashed side-on into her. Spiraling, but somehow managing to stay on, she groggily registered Lucan Davis being screamed at by Madam Robins, the referee for blatching. Ignoring his pleas that he had forgotten to brake, Lily, head still spinning took the penalty, and slipped it past Scorpius Malfoys reaching fingers.

"Thirty-Nil Gryffindor! The chasers are putting on a good show here and...HARPER IS OFF!! Look at that boy go! He dives, straight down, Albus Potter is behind him now, but there's no way he can catch him, HE REACHES FOR THE SNITCH AND...OUCH!"

Lily winced as the bludger caught Harper square in the back, catapulting him forward off his broom. He made a vain grab at the golden flash as he sailed past, and just missed. From behind, Al, reached for it, only to catch the tail-end of Harper's Firebolt 3 in his throat, sending him, too, sprawling to the ground six feet below.

Lily hurried to join the team huddle around her brother, who appeared to have suffered little worse that a few scrapes and a bruised ego. They were soon joined by James, who informed them that they had two minutes. "Right, we're flying well, and we're up on the scoreboard. Let's keep it that way people. Rosie, I know you haven't had anything to do yet, but don't fall asleep up there ok? Fred, good shot with that bludger, Harper swears his back is broken, but he's standing so I doubt it. Don't underestimate him though, he may try to sham a weakness. Don't buy it guys. That goes double for you Al. Oh, and how in the name of Merlin's pants did you not see that broomstick?"

Al studiously ignored the question as he dusted himself off, and checked his broom for any crash-sustained damage.

Madam Robins' sharp whistle blast sent them all back in the air. Two seconds later, and they were off again, at a faster and more furious rate than before. True to his prediction, Rose started to see a bit of the play, wearing five shots by the Slytherin chasers, though she only failed to stop one. At the other end, Scorpius Malfoy had picked up his game, blocking everything the Gryffindor chasers threw at him, until Roxy finally faked one past him.

"Forty-Ten, Gryffindor's favour. A superb fake...ah don't go booing me, I'm just telling it like it is, and now, Smith in possession, heading up the middle, he dodges Roxanne, flies upwards, pursued by James Potter, who gains on him, readies for the tackle, and Smith pulls off a perfect Porskoff Ploy as he passes to Dorny, the Slytherin captain ducks a bludger, avoids Lily Potters vicious tackle, and another bludger, and shoots and SHE SCORES! Forty-Twenty now, Gryffindor leading AND HERE THEY GO AGAIN! Harper and Potter are neck and neck, they dive down, oh, I CAN SEE IT! And now up, and around the Slytherin goalposts. Harper swerves around the hoops, AL POTTER DOESN'T BOTHER SWERVING, HE FLIES STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HOOP AND...CATCHES THE SNITCH!! GRYFFINDOR WINS!! It's all over folks, Gryffindor wins one hundred and ninety to twenty. An excellent capture of the snitch by Albus Potter."

* * *

"Not bad for your first game."  
Lily extricated herself from beneath her brother's arm and flung herself excitedly at her mother.

"Were you watching the whole game? Did you see me tackle Davis? How come you didn't tell me you were coming to watch?"

Ginny Potter laughed as she fought her way through the crowd of supporters, one arm around her daughter. "Of course I was here for the whole game, your father too. He'll be down in a minute to congratulate you all. Yes I did see your excellent first shot. Wiped the smirk of Malfoy's face, didn't you?"

They were shortly joined by her brothers, James with a grin plastered solidly onto his face, his auburn hair windswept and messy.

Lily shrieked as he savagely ruffled her hair, then began a blow-by-blow analysis with their mother, getting a "professional view" of the standard of play until-

"Well, I guess the Quidditch genes bred true."

"Daddy!"

Harry Potter caught his youngest child in a bear hug, then turned and clapped James on the shoulder. "Good work, son. Nice first game as Captain. Dom will be glad to know that you are continuing on the legacy."

James grinned back, and threw his arm around Al, crushing him to his side. "I reckon that was Al's best catch yet! Did you see the look on Malfoy's face when he shot through the goal hoop?"

Harry grinned back at both his sons, radiating pride. "I've only got one thing to ask though. How in the name of Merlin's pants, Al, did you manage to miss seeing that broom?"


End file.
